Tag: saving

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I’m Back!

Hi everyone!

I’m responsible for the exhibit building at our local county fair and have been absent from this blog too long! However, 12 hour days for 10 days straight didn’t leave me enough time to post.

Handy Tip

I thought I would share something I learned while getting ready for the flower department in the exhibit building. We usually ask a local florist to donate flower preservative and I put it off so long that we were getting ready for entry day and I still didn’t have any. My friend, June, suggested that we could make our own.  I looked it up and sure enough you can! We had to make a large quantity but to preserve your occasional bouquet at home you could make a much smaller batch. It seemed to work quite well for us. The “recipe” is below.

Flower Preservative

1 teaspoon sugar

1 teaspoon household bleach

2 teaspoons lemon or lime juice

1 quart warm water

Stir together all ingredients until the sugar is dissolved.

Recipe

We are heading rapidly toward the harvest season in our neck of the woods. Here’s a neat little recipe that you can use with all those cucumbers, green peppers and onions.

This is something that my mother used to make. I imagine she learned it from her mother being that the term icebox is in the title and people haven’t used an icebox in many decades. My oldest daughter, Melanie, could just sit and eat these right out of the jar! I am sure that she will carry on the tradition of making them with her daughter, Sierra.

Icebox Pickles

7 cups unpeeled cucumbers sliced thin

1 cup sliced onion

1 cup sliced green bell peppers

1 Tablespoon salt

1 cup white vinegar

2 cups sugar

1 teaspoon celery seed

Mix cucumbers, onions, green peppers and salt. Set aside.

Put vinegar, sugar, celery and mustard seeds in a pot and bring to a boil. Allow this mixture to cool for at least an hour.

When cooled pour the mixture over the cucumbers. Put the pickles in glass jars and place in refrigerator. They will keep for at least 2 months.

*When I am without celery seed  I use just celery salt in its place.

Money Savers

When I look at saving money I take a global approach. One little money saving tactic might not save you that much but if you take advantage of several it adds up to quite the savings over a month. If you look at what you save over a year it is truly rewarding!

-Ask your pharmacist about the retail price of your medication. It might be cheaper than the co-pay when using your prescription plan.

-If you have homeowner’s insurance or renter’s insurance and haven’t had a claim in 10 years some companies will give you a discount on your rate. You have to ask because they won’t volunteer the information. It doesn’t hurt to ask. The worst that could happen is that they would say they don’t do that.

-When traveling by air the security check will let you pass with an empty water bottle. Take one with you and fill it once you’re through the check point at a water fountain. It beats paying up to $5 for a bottle in a gift shop.

-Before eating out look for coupons that might be available. You can do this on Google or at restaurant.com.

-Don’t pay for Microsoft Office. You can get a free download of Apache Open Office or LibreOffice. My youngest son used the Open Office Suite all through college. It has everything you need.

-If your car is paid off cancel the collision portion of your insurance. It will save you roughly $300 a year. You are required by most states’ laws to carry liability but not collision.

-If you have a teen driver and they have good grades in school it is possible to get a discount on your car insurance. Ask your insurer! You could save over $200 a year.

Homemade

I made a charcuterie board for myself and one for a friend. Charcuterie is a French term meaning cooked meats or a shop that sells them.  It has come to be used as a term for more than just cooked meats when talking of a charcuterie board. As you can see from the image below, all manner of

hors d’oeuvres can be served on one.

.

You can literally put anything for your guests on a charcuterie board. You are only limited by your imagination.  I created one for my family that was both colorful and tasty. I neglected to take a picture until they had devoured 2/3 of the goodies so I had to use a royalty free stock picture. My board held black and green olives, cheese, pepperoni, crackers, pickles, veggies and dip, etc.

When I was looking into making one the recommendation was to make it the length of your table. It was suggested to be that size so that guests could reach what they wanted from any place at the table.

I made mine 4 foot long and it worked out just fine. I felt that storing a longer one would have been difficult for me. You can decide on the size that is best for you and your entertaining needs.

I purchased  a 1 inch thick and 8 inch wide board. It came in an 8 foot length. Before I left Home Depot I asked the gentleman to cut it in half for me. That made it easier to transport and I was also one step closer to making two charcuterie boards! Before I left the store I also purchased Howard food grade cutting board oil and butcher block conditioner.

I have an electric sander. I used it to make the board as soft and “smooth as a baby’s bottom”. I also rounded off the corners  with the sander. When I was happy with the feel of the board I conditioned it twice with the butcher block conditioner. In between uses of the board I am cleaning it with a clean, warm, damp cloth and using the cutting board oil to treat it. That keeps the board from drying out and cracking.

The charcuterie board has been a wonderful addition to my kitchen! I know my friend has enjoyed her’s too.

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Belated Happy 4th of July!

We had a really nice holiday and I hope you and yours did as well. It was the usual picnic on the deck (with wayyyyyyyyyyyy too much food), sunshine  and family. Next year I have promised myself that I will go to the parade and the fireworks. It really isn’t completely the 4th of July unless you do. This year I opted for quiet at home.

I seem to feel that my posts are always a potpourri of different things and this one is no different. During the week if I think of something I want to share I write it down in my notebook. If I try a new recipe, that goes in the notebook too. Also, if I have an interesting experience somewhere and learn how to save money or do something a little more efficiently that goes on the list. Without further ado, here is this week’s potpourri!

  This wreath was my last-minute decor for the 4th. I had the raffia and the little star at home. At a household sale a few years ago I had bought the 48 star flag, which was the design of the flag when I was born. All I needed to buy was the grapevine wreath. That I  picked up at Joann Fabrics. I saved 20% on that purchase because I signed up for their email notices. It was very cheap and I am always on the lookout for that money-saving angle!

RECIPE

This week I tried Dear Abby’s recipe for meatloaf. I read her column daily. This is an old recipe and a reader recently asked for it to be published again. I thought I would like to try it too. I have always made my meatloaf adding eggs for moisture and as another binding agent. That is the way my Mom taught me. I have never had a complaint but it’s good to try new things. The moisture in this recipe is provided by water and catsup.

-2 pounds of ground beef

-1 cup Italian bread crumbs

-1/2 cup finely chopped onion

-1/3 cup catsup

-1/3 cup water

-1 teaspoon garlic powder

-salt and pepper to taste

I combined all of the ingredients and made a loaf shape in a pan I had sprayed to PAM. I then drizzled catsup on top of the loaf. The meatloaf went into the oven at 350 degrees for an hour.

First of all, it was delicious. Three people shared dinner with me and all had good comments. No one would get into that dangerous area of whether it was better than the one I usually make. Gee, I wonder why! Let’s just say none of them lack intelligence or, for that matter, the desire to remain alive. Anyway, I did do a couple things differently than the stated recipe above. I didn’t have Italian bread crumbs so I added Italian seasoning to plain bread crumbs. I think it worked very well. I also added about 3/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese. Don’t ask me why! I just wanted to and I could, so I did!

 Almost in the oven.

 Out of the oven! You may notice this is only 1/2 a loaf. I forgot to take the picture when I took the meatloaf out of the oven so this is the half that remained after dinner. Whoops!

MONEY SAVER!!!!

You may do this already but for those that don’t I wanted to tell you about the Wal-Mart Savings Catcher. I have used it for a couple of years now and have actually earned a couple of e-gift cards. Here’s the premise. You download the app on your smart phone (from iTunes or the Google Play Store) and create an account. When you shop at Wal-Mart you scan the QR code or the SKU on the bottom of your receipt. You submit your receipt to Wal-Mart. If they find a lower price at another store in your area, they give you the resulting credit. So, for instance, if I buy a pack of Duracell batteries and they find them for sale at another store for a cheaper price they add the difference to your Savings Catcher account. You can claim your money at any time and be sent an e-gift card in your email. At the store you just present that at checkout like you would a coupon. Slick! There’s very little effort.

The only hitch I had at one point was that Wal-Mart Savings Catcher decided it didn’t like my road runner email. I called them to find out why I wasn’t getting my e-gift card and they told me they weren’t sure why but road runner addresses weren’t working and if I had another email to use that one. I have a Gmail account as well so I just used that and there was my e-gift card.

If you would like to read more about this program or sign up the link is provided below.

https://savingscatcher.walmart.com/

SUPER SAVER TIPS

I have mentioned in previous posts to sign up for loyalty programs at the businesses you frequent. There are savings!

Here are some more ideas for you to consider.

  1. If you get a $1 or more coupon for a new product but you’re not sure you will like it, wait until it is on sale. My grocery store periodically runs dollar doubler coupons in their sales flyer. I wait to use the coupon at that time when I can save $2. That way if I am disappointed I haven’t lost that much.
  2. Buy one, get one free sales are always nice. Now, if you’re a discerning shopper you realize that they increase the price of buying one of the items so that it isn’t that great of a deal for you and they still make money. However, you can play their game too. Here is my for instance. The dog food I buy was on BO/GO. It usually is $4.99 a box. They had upped the price to $5.99 but I still was going to get one free so it was an okay deal. I also had two $1 coupons off one box. So, I used both coupons because I was purchasing two units. At the $5.99 price and a total of $2 off I was getting two boxes for $3.99. That is cheaper than I could buy one for at regular price. I call that a win! Even if you have a $1 coupon of two of some item it helps you save.
  3. My grocery store runs special deals to get gas points. You buy 6 items from what they have in the group and you get 200 gas points. Sounds good. I do this only under certain conditions. I have to really use the product. I need to have a coupon. I particularly focus on the items that are buy one, get one when I have a coupon for money off of two. The danger here is that you buy things you wouldn’t ordinarily buy and then the store wins. I try never to do that.

 

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Holy Schnikees! It’s Hot

This week’s post is coming to you from Death Valley. Oh no, wait, I’m still in Western New York. The heat is scrambling my brain cells. You know if I wanted to sweat all day (I mean sweat as in when I put my glasses on they steam up) I would live in Florida or something. Actually, if I lived in Florida I would have central air like my friends, Shannon and Jeff. I’m just HOT people!

Well, enough of my self-pity. On to more cheery, cheap and cool things. I have a few for you this week that I hope will be of interest.

Before starting I want to apologize for the pictures of receipts that were in my last blog post. Once I published my post, the orientation of the images changed. In the staging area for my blog and in my final product on the admin page they are as they should be. I have emailed the host of my site to find out a fix for this and have not heard back.

TEST KITCHEN

If you had a chance to read last week’s post you saw that I tried Cloud Eggs. They were good. I would make them again. In any case, I am kind of a “theme girl”. My friends get gifts with a theme. I create little vignettes in my home around a theme. So, I couldn’t help but try Cloud Bread this week. Cloud bread is low-fat, low-carb, grain free and gluten free. It is supposed to be very good for a paleo diet which seems to be all the rage today according to Pinterest. Here’s the recipe;

Cloud Bread

4 eggs

1/2 teaspoon of cream of tartar

2 ounces of low-fat cream cheese

1/2 teaspoon sea salt

1/4 to 1/2 garlic powder

1 teaspoon Italian seasoning

Preheat your oven to 300 degrees and line two large baking sheets with parchment paper.

Separate your eggs. Place the egg whites in the bowl of a stand mixer. Add the cream of tartar. Beat on high speed until the frothy mixture forms stiff peaks like when you make a meringue.

Then place the cream cheese in a stand mixer and beat on high until it is softened. Add the eggs to the cream cheese one at a time until they are incorporated.  Scrape the sides of the bowl to make sure there are no lumps and that they are fully incorporated. To this mixture add the seasonings. 

The final step is to fold the egg yolk mixture into the stiff egg whites. Do this gently so as not to deflate the meringue as little as possible.

Use a 1/3 cup measure to scoop the mixture onto the lined baking sheets.  I was able to fit 8 such measures on one sheet with 5 for the second baking pan.

Bake in the preheated oven for up to 30 minutes. The bread should be lightly brown and not jiggly in the center. Allow to cool completely and store in a paper lunch sack. There is no preservative so they should be used rather quickly.

My daughter, Sara, and I did this together. We checked the oven every 5 to 10 minutes so that we wouldn’t over cook them. We cooked them for 15 minutes. However, keep in mind that all ovens vary and you might need longer should you try the recipe.

My review of these little breads would be that they would be best for a savory sandwich. The breads are very eggy tasting and I would add perhaps some ham, bacon, lettuce, etc. and have a little sandwich. The ones we made came out about the size of the Sandwich Thins that Arnold makes.  Some people use recipes that make them more sweet than savory.

Let me know if you try them.

PRODUCT REVIEW

I wonder if any of you feel my pain. I struggle with thinning and very light eyebrows. THE STRUGGLE IS REALLY FOLKS! They weren’t always that way but they have been lately.  I have tried gels, powders and pencils. I finally decided on using an eyebrow pencil but always felt like I didn’t do it that well.

When I went to my hair stylist this last time, as she waxed my eyebrows (ok, the chin too!) we were talking about my difficulty. She told me that she had another customer who she commented on the nice shape of her eyebrows. The woman told her she used a stamp to apply a powder! Apparently, the lady’s eyebrows were really on-point.

After I got over the little tingly feeling I got thinking about being able to use a stamp I went right to amazon. com. They have everything! Anything I desire and I am never let down. I searched for eyebrow stamp and several products came up. I read reviews and decided on ordering the 3 Second Brow! With the wonders of Amazon Prime I had my kit in 2 days.

  The kit includes the powder and two types of eyebrow stamps (one more arched and defined and one softer and a little larger). Also included, is a styling wand with a brush at one end to smooth the powder out if needed and the opposite end has a different brush to comb the brows.

 This is the top of the compact with the more defined stamps on the lid.

 Of course, this is the powder inside the compact with a little mirror.

Below are one each of the two types of stamps to show you the difference.

 As you can probably see, I have been using the more defined and arched eyebrow stamp.

I am still trying to perfect my technique. There is a knack to it. Having the product only about a week I feel that I am doing pretty well with it. All in all, I am happy I bought the kit. I think when I practice some more it will be just what I need. Don’t get me wrong, I have done them and worn them out in public. I am not having that much difficulty. However, as they say, practice makes perfect.

MONEY SAVERS!!!!!

I am a techy, geeky person and I LOVE my smartphone! How did I ever live without it? I am not sure but I bet everything was in black and white before I found the colorful world of the smartphone.

Consequently, I really do feel “there is an app for that”! Currently, as you know I love to save money, I have a lot of businesses’ apps on my phone. Now, only the ones that give me special offers! Today I used my McDonald’s app. It is Free French Fry Friday and I wanted to bring fries home for my son. I clicked on the offer and the cashier scanned the QR code with her wand. Viola! Free fries! There were also offers for buy a Big Mac and get one free, buy a breakfast sandwich and get one free and several other offers. You can only use one code per transaction. You know what comes next, right? Due to there being no line and I had a couple of extra minutes, I drove through the drive-thru again and got the Big Mac offer!!! Yep you heard me! Two Big Macs and a medium fry for a grand total of $3.99! I count it as a WIN! Jake was happy with the eats too!

I have apps for Burger King, Wendy’s, Subway (my personal favorite) and a few others. You have to pick and choose but it is relatively easy to save some money and come away feeling like you just “beat The Man at his own game”! It is the modern day version of “hunting and gathering” as far as I’m concerned.

Hey, have a happy weekend and enjoy your friends and family this holiday weekend. Please leave a comment and tell your friends about this blog. My short term goal is still 100 followers and I have 61. I am not too proud to beg! Help me get there.

 

 

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Sunshine Makes Everything Better

The sun is shining and all is right with the world! Well, at least it seems like more is possible when the sun is out!

First of all, this week I want to share a couple of items with you that I have found save me money. Who doesn’t want that? (It gives us more to spend somewhere else!)

Our first money saver is only for people who are near enough to Canada that they have a Tim Horton’s Cafe & Bake Shop (or as we do, 3 or 4 of them) and qualify as a “senior”. There is a senior discount at Tim Horton’s! Who knew? Which was surprising that I didn’t know since I am what you might call an addict. I didn’t find out until just 2 or 3 weeks ago. That was thanks to my friend Linda!  I have since learned it is a discount on the coffee purchases and not on any food you might buy. Never the less, it is helpful and much appreciated.

The next money saver is for everyone, everywhere. It is a browser extension called “Honey”. You can download it from the Google Play Store or search for it on Google. You download it and you’re ready to go. The little icon for Honey will show on the upper right of your browser window.

Below I am quoting from the FAQ’s page of “Honey”:

     Honey is a service that makes it ridiculously easy to save money and time.          Honey automatically finds coupon codes for the site you’re shopping at and      applies them to your order when you check out, saving you money and                  coupon searching time.

Honey just kind of sits there quietly and waits until you go shopping online. Before you checkout it pops up in a box on the upper right hand of your screen and asks if you would like to run the coupons codes. It also tells you how many they have to run. You just click indicating that you want the codes run and there you are. If Honey finds any that are usable for your purchases it is automatically applied. Presto! Changeo! Money Saveo! (Okay, I made that last part up!)

Another layer to this Honey thing is that you also earn as you shop. Their name for your earnings is Honey Gold. When you earn G1000 you can redeem it for a $10 Amazon card. Read more about it at the following link:

http://help.joinhoney.com/article/34-what-the-heck-is-this-honeygold-thing

Currently, Honey is supported on Chrome, Firefox and Opera browsers. ( I had never heard of the Opera browser but I did do some investigating. It was developed in Europe in 1995 and is used around the world. It purportedly is very secure. I may give it a try at some point.) The people at Honey say that a mobile app is coming soon as well as support for other browsers.

A long time ago someone returned a plate or container to me that I had given them with some food item at some point. They had put some candy with it. When I asked about the candy they told me that they always returned an empty food container with something inside. It could be any little treat like a pack of gum. It was not just a thank you, although it certainly is that. It was more a  tradition that a plate or container should not be returned to its owner empty. I have tried as much as I could to do the same. It just seemed like a nice thing to do.

Much more recently I saw an idea about a Giving Plate.

The idea is that you give someone this plate filled with some treat such as cookies and at some future time they pass the plate and a treat of their choosing onto another person. It seems like a great thing to do! It also reminded me of the previously mentioned tradition.  I liked it! I had to make one.

To make the Giving Plate you just need a plate. It can be any color and it could have a design around the edge. I simply chose white because I liked the simplistic look. The plate I found in Dollar Tree and you guessed it! It was $1.

To start with, make sure that your plate is clean. Wash it, of course, but also take a cloth or paper towel and wipe the area to be painted with rubbing alcohol to make sure it is clean. I have oil based Sharpie markers that are made to use on ceramics but if you don’t have them that’s okay because you only need two colors. They are not that expensive ($3.85 at Walmart for one). You also could use the acrylic paints that are meant to be used on ceramics. The brand I have is Folk Art and line for use on glass or ceramics is called Enamels ($2.99 a bottle). If you purchase two pencils or two bottles of paint you will certainly get many uses out of them as you just need a small amount for this project.

If you would like you could create a stencil for your design. At the very least, draw your design out on a piece of paper and make sure you have room for what you want and that the design is centered on your plate. If you make a goof and need to remove something you can scrape it off with your fingernail or a needle. If it is still wet rubbing alcohol will work and for small goofs a cotton swab is ideal.

Once you have the words on your plate, you simply put it in the oven and set the oven for 425 degrees (there is no need to preheat). Let it bake for one hour. Then shut the oven off and allow the plate to cool in place. I have created several cups and plates this way and the ink stays in place through use and washing. I have not tried it in a dishwasher but I would advise against that if you want the color to stay.

As it seems that I have jumped to dishes and traditions there is one more that I have adopted thanks to my niece, Nicole. She had started using a red place setting for the birthday person at parties. This signified their specialness as the guest of honor. She did this for her Dad, my brother, and I really liked the idea. I have started doing it for all of our family birthday parties. I purchased a plate, a dessert plate, a small bowl and a coffee mug. You wouldn’t have to have anything but the plate but I get carried away! Also possible, would be that you could use another color instead of red. Maybe orange is your thing or peacock-blue. Hey, you’re creating your own tradition. It can be anything you would like it to be!

See you next time!

Duffy says hello to the fans of his picture on the first post! (Doesn’t he have a noble nose?)

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